Shadows of the Moon
by WlfGrl86
Summary: RemusOC, SiriusOC. The moon hides a lot of secrets in its shadows. Hogwarts was home to not just one, but actually two werewolves during the time of the Marauders.
1. Into the Mystic

Shadows of the Moon

By WlfGrl86

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from Harry Potter. Those characters are owned by J.K. Rowling. I do however take credit for the original characters. 

Chapter 1 - Into the Mystic

Diana Lycaonia had has no problem crossing onto platform 9 ¾. The crossing seemed perfectly natural to her. Just go straight through and you come out onto the other side. Of course, such a school as Hogwarts would have such an ingenious delight to begin the year. And besides, it wouldn't do to have a muggle accidently board the train, now would it?

What amazed Diana, though, was that she was actually crossing onto the platform; she was actually standing in front of the train that would take her to Hogwarts, a place that she had never dreamed that she would be allowed to enter, let alone attend. It wasn't that she had no magical background in her family or that she hadn't shown any promise, in fact, she was quite bright for her age of just 11, it was something else entirely that she thought had expelled her from Hogwarts doors before she had ever set foot into them.

There had never been such a student as her, then again, there had never been such a headmaster as Dumbledore either.

All around her the platform station was bustling with activity. Mothers and fathers were kissing their children goodbye, seeing them to the doors of the train with hugs and promises to owl. Diana clutched her belongings a little closer to her chest and smiled, suddenly missing her parents. She'd never met them, but she was sure that they would be proud of her now, would be standing there with her, hugging her and wishing her the best with promises of treats by owl.

"Oi! Sorry!" a young boy, right around her age said as he accidentally ran into her, knocking what she was holding to the ground. His black hair fell in all sorts of obnoxious ways, a lock here and a lock there, never really deciding how it wanted to lay. His glasses were a bit skewed on his face and he took a moment to adjust them before diving down to help pick up the mess that he had made.

Startled, she blinked a few times, her shoulder feeling the soft sting of the collision. "I… uh… it's alright," she stammered, bending down to retrieve her belongings from this boy.

"JAMES!" a voice whined, pushing back through the crowds, in an attempt to get back to his friend, who Diana assumed was the boy who had run into her, judging by where this new boy was looking. "JAMES!"

"Hold on Sirius!" James called back, running a hand through his hair, making it stand even more on end. "I am so sorry," he said again to her, still trying to help her pick everything up despite her protestations that she could get it.

"What did you do now James?" the other boy, Sirius asked, finally making it over to them, looking down at the mess and the two scrambling on the ground to retrieve it all.

Diana looked up, her large blue eyes settling on this new boy, who, like James had black hair, but this one's didn't look as though birds might have nested. No, this one was smoothed and combed and obviously well off.

"I accidently ran into…" James paused and looked over at her, "I'm sorry… and sorry I keep saying I'm sorry, but, um, what was your name? I'm James and this is Sirius."

Sirius's gray eyes swung over to settle on her and he raised an eyebrow in a well perfected manner. With both set of eyes on her, she did her best to appear unfazed to not show any reason that she shouldn't be there, that she didn't belong, just like them. Pulling the last of her things back into her arms, she stood up, offering James a hand as she did so. "I'm Diana. Diana Lycaonia."

James's smile was like a million watt lightbulb as he stood up. "James Potter."

"Sirius Black."

Sirius speaking made Diana look back over at him. Something told her that he was somehow used to that, commanding attention with just a word. "Black? As in…"

"Yeah, the most noble and ancient house of Black… blah blah blah."

Her eyebrows shot up as she looked at the boy in front of her. A Black? This was not good. That family was known for their hatred of anything that wasn't pureblood and normal. "I… uh… I have to go… Um… nice… to um… meet you," she stuttered uselessly, making as quick of an exit as she could, leaving two confused boys in her wake.

"Look what you did!" James exclaimed at Sirius, cuffing his newfound friend on the back of the head.

"What I did?! You're the one who ran into her. Probably knocked her arm out of place."

"I did not!"

"Did too!"

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

"Don't make me curse you!"

"I'd like to see you try!"

Diana could hear their bickering as she made her way through the crowd, which was now thinning, to the train. A giggle floated out past her lips and she had to hide her smile as she boarded the train, still thinking about the two cute boys, even if one had been a Black.

It seemed that every room she passed was occupied. Having dwindled those minutes with those two had cost her her choice of rooms on the train. It didn't matter though. Poking her head inside one of them, she smiled at the tawny haired boy who was sitting there, engrossed in a book of some volume. "Excuse me. Can I sit in here, or are these seats taken?"

Visibly shaken, the book looked up at her with a timid expression. "I…uh… no… I mean… uh, yes, you can… they… um… have a seat?" he offered at last.

"Thanks." Stepping into the room, she pushed her things up into the overhead and sat down across from the boy. "I'm Diana. Diana Lycaonia."

"Uh…" the boy stammered, looking back up from his book which he had gone right back to. "Remus."

"Last name, Remus?"

"Lupin. My last name is Lupin," he seemed to push out in a single breath, eyes looking at anything but her.

Raising an eyebrow at this boy's strange behavior, settled back into her seat across from him, undeterred in her attempt at conversation. "Is this your first year?"

"Yeah," he nodded.

"Mine too. It's kinda scary and exciting all at the same time, isn't it? I mean… Hogwarts! We're finally getting to go! I never thought I would, but I mean, I am so…"

"I didn't think I'd be going either," he offered up quietly, almost too quiet for Diana to hear.

"Really? Well that gives us something in common! What are you reading?"

"Do you care?"

"Yeah! I love books. I'm always reading. Well, not right now, obviously… I'm sorry. I'm babbling." Blushing, she looked down at her hands and away from Remus, who was now looking at her with intense eyes. It was like he could see straight into her. Odd.

"No. It's okay. I'm nervous too. Kinda trying to keep to myself and not get in anyone's way, you know? Anyways, I'm reading our textbook for Charms, just trying to brush up before term starts."

Looking back up, she smiled at him, nodding. "I won't keep you from your book then. But yeah, I know what you mean about staying out of people's way. I keep expecting someone to look at me and ask me what I'm doing here, that I don't belong in Hogwarts."

Remus's smile was like a treasure, something beautiful and innocent and Diana knew in that moment that she and Remus were going to get along wonderfully, especially if he kept smiling at her like that. "You belong here."

"So do you," she smiled back. "We both do."

The train ride was uneventful. Diana caught a glimpse later of James and Sirius, only this time that had managed to pick up another boy to add to their small group. He followed the two boys around like a lost puppy begging for table scraps. Small, except around the middle, he was what appeared to be the doting fan club of the two more handsome boys, even if James's hair stuck up at odd angles. She didn't pay them too much mind however as she and Remus, after a rather shy start, had hit it off brilliantly, talking animatedly about the course work for the year and favorite books. They had a lot in common, her and Remus.

Herded from the train to the boats, they crossed the lake and made their way up to the castle, lit up like a beacon in the night. Diana didn't know if she had ever seen anything so beautiful in her entire life. She chattered excitedly with Remus about how they would be sorted into their houses when they got to the banquet at the great hall.

"My mom was in Ravenclaw, but my dad, he was in Gryffindor," she explained. "I don't know which one I'll go into, but I know I'm definitely not going to be put into Slytherin." That one word alone left a nasty taste in her mouth.

"What do your parents think?"

"I don't know. They died when I was really little," she said softly, looking down at the water under the boat.

"My dad died too when I was really young," Remus said in empathy. "Just me and my mum now. I can't even remember him."

Looking over, she gave him a shallow smile before leaning her head on his shoulder. "I'm so sorry Remus."

He swallowed audibly, obviously unsure what to do as she curled up against him on the boat. It had been too long since anyone had touched him as carelessly and as trusting as Diana was doing now. It didn't feel wrong, though, just strange. Wrapping a tentative arm around her, he rest his head against hers. "I think we'll both be in Ravenclaw."

"You think so?"

"I hope so," he said, smiling at the thought of finally having a friend in his life. "Or at least I hope we're in the same house."

"Even if we aren't though, we're friends, right?" she asked, looking up at him hopefully. She, like him, was just as starved for friendship.

"Awww! Look! Icky lil Loopy's got himself a girlfriend! Is she as loony as you loopy?" chorused a group of fledgling Slytherins in the boat over.

His face blushed scarlet, as did hers as they listened to the taunting. "Hey!" called out a familiar voice in the boat on the other side of them. "Leave them alone! You're just jealous!"

Leaning around Remus to look at the voice who was standing up for them, her face instantly breaking out into a giant grin. There, across the lake was James Potter practically falling out of his boat as he threw insults back and forth with the taunting Slytherin hopefuls. The only reason that he wasn't falling out was because the pudgy boy was holding him back. Sirius just sat there with a bemused grin at the whole proceedings.

"JAMES!" Diana called over. "Don't fall out of the boat!"

"Do you know them?" Remus asked her, confused by her smile and laughter.

"Yeah! That's the guy who ran into me back at the train station. That's James Potter. JAMES! Sit down!" she scolded, laughing as he tried to fly himself out at the bullies.

"Bloody cowards! Come over here and say that to my face! I'll curse you into next week!"

"Bit melodramatic, isn't he?" Remus chuckled.

"POTTER!" Diana yelled as she saw him tipping forward and the rounder boy's grip starting to fail.

With a splash James fell into the water, curses, messy hair and all. He came up sputtering for air, a gigantic grin on his face. "Water's great! Come on in!"

"James Potter! You get back into that boat this instant!" an authoritative voice called out from back towards the end of the boats.

"Sirius! You have to try this! The water's great! Seriously!"

Raising another one of his sarcastic eyebrows, Sirius looked over the edge of the boat. "Sorry Potter, don't fancy cuddling up with the giant squid tonight."

"GIANT SQUID?!" Leaping, well, more like flopping back into the boat, James looked back down into the water, wary of any giant squid that might be trying to come after him. "Bloody hell. You're a ripe bastard Black, you know that?"

"I try," he grinned. "But then again, I'm not the one who fell into the lake, now am I?"

Diana collapsed back into her seat in a fit of giggles at seeing James flop back into the boat like a half dead fish, all thoughts of the Slytherin hopefuls gone from her mind. Clutching at Remus's arm, she tried to get hold of her laughter, to which she failed miserably.

Remus, looking uncomfortable, glanced from side to side and tried to slip away from Diana's touch. Like any eleven year old boy, he had liked a girl, forgot what he was doing and was teased for it, therefore he had to try and act as though nothing had ever happened and that nothing ever would happen. After all, she was a girl. "Diana…"

"Did you see him fall into the lake like that? And then when he thought there was a giant squid!" she giggled harder at the recent memory.

"Um, Diana, we're almost to the castle," he said softly, somewhat shyly. "Maybe we should just… calm down?"

Her laughter sobered and she looked at the distance that was between her and her new found friend. "Oh… Um, sure Rem. Sorry, I… don't know what… Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, just… tired. Kinda hungry too. I'll be happy when we get through with the banquet and get on to bed."

"Yeah, I know what you mean," she said, giving him a soft smile in agreement, though inside she was still jumping with excitement and part of her was suddenly wishing she'd gotten on the same boat with Sirius and James who were now splashing one another despite the protestations of the others in their boat. Something told her that they weren't thinking of sleep anytime soon, only mischief and fun.

Settling back onto her seat, she waited for the boat to reach its destination, feeling out of place once again in her life as the space between her and Remus seemed to grow the longer they sat in silence.

As the boats reached the shore, the children filed out in an almost orderly fashion. It was close enough for a large group of excited eleven year olds.

"Welcome to Hogwarts, first years! My name is Professor McGonagall. If you could all just line up and follow me, we will head up to the castle and to the Great Hall for the banquet." The woman, tall with thinly stretched lips, turned on her heel and began the way up the castle, knowing that the children would follow her.

They made their way up, Remus and Diana remaining quiet while Sirius and James, a bit further back in the line, continued to be loud and obnoxious. She longed to talk with Remus like that, or to go back there with those two, but what right did she have. She was lucky just to be there. Maybe Remus had the right idea. It was better to be quiet and not drawn attention to herself. Maybe then they wouldn't suspect anything, they wouldn't wonder why she was there. They wouldn't have a chance to rethink allowing her inside of Hogwarts.

"PSST!" whispered a voice right next to her ear.

"What?" she asked, turning around, looking for the source of the sound.

"Something wrong?" Remus asked, giving her an odd look.

"Um, nothing. Did you head anything, just now?"

"No…"

"PSST! Come here!" she heard again just before a hand grabbed hers, pulling her back towards the end of the line, Remus too.

"What in Merlin's name…?" She turned to be greeted with the grinning faces of one James Potter and one Sirius Black. "Guys!"

Remus all but hid behind her, saying nothing, trying to remain unseen as the two boys grinned at them, the pudgy boy looking up at the other two with a look of awe on his face.

"We saw you up there, all bored and all, so, we decided to rescue you," Sirius responded, gray eyes dancing in the moonlight.

"Again," James smirked. Looking over at Remus, he held out his hand. "James Potter, what's your name mate?"

"I… uh… Rem… Remus… Lu… Lupin. Remus Lupin," he managed out through a bout of nervous stuttering.

Sirius's bark of laughter cut through the stuttering as he clapped his arm over Remus's shoulders. "Don't worry mate. I'm Sirius Black and calm down, alright?"

Remus just swallowed nervously and nodded, eyes locked on the arm that was around his shoulders, but not daring to say anything about it.

"I see you're all dry," Diana smirked, noting James's very unsoggy appearance.

"Yeah, Sirius knew a drying spell," he laughed, "though I now smell remarkably like dead fish."

"Well, I wasn't going to say anything," she grinned.

"Hey! That's not my fault!" Sirius proclaimed, arm still around Remus's shoulders, in what Diana guessed was a very good attempt to keep him from bolting away from the boisterous group.

"That remains to be seen," James jokingly glowered. "OH! Diana! This is Peter Pettigrew," he introduced, allowing the shorter, pudgier boy to step forward.

His hair was the color of straw, unremarkable, just like the rest of him with beady eyes she couldn't quite tell what color they were. Smiling, she reached out to shake his hand. His fingers were like little sausages, plump and warm and his smile was warm too though just a little nervous. She could tell he was nervous by the pink that dusted his cheeks as he touched her hand. This was a boy very used to not being in the spotlight. How he had ever taken up with the likes of James and Sirius was indeed a mystery.

"Hi Peter."

"Hi," he muttered out, doing his best to not look her in the eyes.

"So, what house do you guys think you'll be in?" she asked, looking back at the more suave members of the group.

James, attempting to puff himself up to twice his normal size, grinned, "Why, Gryffindor, of course! My mum and dad were both in Gryffindor and they are obviously the best house…"

"Oh enough James," Sirius scolded, deflating the ego that was growing far too large.

"Something wrong with Gryffindor?" she asked.

"Only if you happen to be in my family," he groaned. "All my family is Slytherins. I'd be right happy so long as I wasn't. That'd really bother mother."

"You and your family don't get along?" she asked, very intrigued where this conversation was going. Maybe a Black wasn't always as black as their name suggested.

Rolling his eyes, Sirius shook his head. "Not in the least. Actually, you know. I'm going to be in Gryffindor with James. I've decided it. Worst thing to a Slytherin, well, that's a Gryffindor."

"I want to be in the same house as James and Sirius," Peter squeaked out, looking up at his two heroes.

"Remus thinks we'll be in Ravenclaw together. It makes sense, I think." Diana supplied, looking a little sad about the thought that they wouldn't be in the same house as James and Sirius.

"So long as you're not in Slytherin."

"She wouldn't be in Slytherin. She's too nice," James said. "Slytherins are mean, ugly things."

"Hey, Remus, you don't say much, do you?" Sirius asked, looking at the boy he still had under arm.

"Only if I have something that needs to be said and right now, nothing needs to be said. You guys are doing enough talking for both I and Peter. Diana, maybe we should get back to where we were in the line?"

"Maybe you're right. Sorry guys. We'll see you later!" she called as she rescued Remus from Sirius and they started back up the line, Remus letting out an audible sigh at his release. "You alright Rem?

"Better now. Those guys…"

"Something wrong?"

"I don't know. I just don't know what to make of them."

"But they're nice!"

"To you," he said, as though that said everything and apparently that was all that was going to be said as they entered the castle doors and McGonagall shushed them all. It was time for the sorting.

TBC...

Review? Please???


	2. Paint it Black

Disclaimer: I don't own most of these characters. I only own one: Diana. All the rest belong to the great J.K. Rowling.

Chapter 2 – Paint it Black

"Really, it's not that bad, Diana," Remus said, patting her back lightly and looking over his shoulder for help with the girl who was crying as though her world had ended.

"He's right!" James added.

"Yeah, you could be in Slytherin," Sirius piped up, thinking that that statement would make everything better. Instead, it only made things worse.

"Diana… come on," Remus tried again, trying to get her look up at him. "Just because all of us were sorted into Gryf—"

"Yes! All of you were sorted into Gryffindor and I was sorted into Ravenclaw. I am on the OPPOSITE side of castle. I am going to know NO ONE. And why are you in Gryffindor Remus? I thought you would have been with me. We're so much alike!"

Remus bit his lip and looked away from the girl's questioning eyes. The Sorting Hat too had asked that question about him. He had sat there, it seemed, longer than anyone else, except for maybe Sirius and Diana. "Hmmm, difficult… I see much potential here. Sharp mind and it seems sharp claws. Very interesting. Where shall I put you? In Ravenclaw where you could hone that sharp mind, or perhaps elsewhere? Perhaps you are destined for more. Chivalrous and daring… yes, yes… that's where I'll put you. You will be great…. GRYFFINDOR!" the hat had called out at last, allowing Remus to take a deep breath and take his seat amongst his house, hoping that Diana would be sorted into the same house with him.

The line of first years slowly got shorter as each was sorted into their house. A Hufflepuff here, a Slytherin there. James was sorted into Gryffindor with Remus, followed by Peter, which was surprising in itself. Remus would have put money on the probability that Peter would have been sorted to Hufflepuff. What was even more surprising was when Sirius was sorted into Gryffindor. The entire Great Hall fell silent, shocked at the declaration of the Sorting Hat. A Black had been sorted into Gryffindor? The HEIR to the House of Black was a GRYFFINDOR?

Sirius, with a smirk, pulled the hat off, made a rude gesture to the Slytherin table and flopped down between Remus and James, giving James and enthusiastic high five. Remus was beginning to wonder if the Sorting Hat was on the fritz. Maybe one of its threads had gotten crossed?

McGonagall, wishing to get her school back into order continued on as normal, calling out sharply the next name on the list, "LYCAONIA, DIANA!"

She made her way up to the seat in front of everyone and sat down, closing her eyes as the hat was placed on her head. Diana waited, hoping hard that she would be with her friends, but the Sorting Hat had other ideas. "Another wolf?" a voice in her ear asked. "So strange…"

"Another…? But I… I'm the…"

"Not my job to question the headmaster, especially with a mind as sharp as this. He wasn't wrong. No, no… but where to put you she-wolf? There's bravery here, but ah! This cunning… wit and learning right here, so strong. You want to be with your friends? In Gryffindor? But you would be so much better suited elsewhere… So much better for… RAVENCLAW!" the hat finally called out to the Great Hall.

Diana's eyes flew open and fell instantly on the four friends she had already made whose faces reflected the disbelief on her own face. It wasn't fair that after just making friends she should be distanced from them. And what did that daft hat mean by another wolf?

Now, here she was, dressed in her blue and bronze robes while the others stood wearing their own of maroon and gold. It wasn't fair!

"You look good in blue though!" Peter tried helping.

It was true, she did look good in the colors of her house. Her blue eyes were made bluer and the bronze seemed to highlight the same color in her hair that fell against her shoulders in waves. Still, that didn't make things better and she gave little Peter the glare to make that point clear.

"Come on Diana," Remus said again, hoping that by saying her name it would help to calm her down. "Didn't you tell me that your mother was in Ravenclaw? Isn't it a good thing?"

"Yeah! I mean, taking after your family and all? I wouldn't know… I'm glad I'm not in the house either of my parents were in... but still! I'm sure your mum's a great mum!" Sirius piped in, receiving a glare from Remus, clearly saying that he wasn't helping.

"My mum died when I was little. I don't even remember her really."

Sirius plowed on, shoving his foot deeper and deeper into his overly large mouth,

"Well, what about your dad? Surely he was a brainy little Ra—"

James elbowed him hard in the side and Remus practically growled at where Sirius had been taking that sentence.

"OW! James! Watch it!"

Diana looked up from her place on the bench and glared up at Sirius who was still as clueless as ever as to what he was saying. "You know, I'm glad I got sorted where I did now. At least in Ravenclaw people will THINK before they speak, unlike SOME Gryffindors." Standing up, she brushed Remus's hand away. "I'll see you later Remus…" she muttered before pushing away from the group, following after her house which had left the Great Hall some minutes earlier.

"Brilliant mate, bloody brilliant," James sighed. "We're going to have to watch that mouth of yours."

"What?! What did I say? I was trying to help!" Sirius whined.

Remus, rolling his eyes, looked the boy straight in the eyes. "Don't talk about what you don't know. Her parents both died when she was younger. I don't know how, so don't ask," he said as he saw Sirius start to say something. "Her dad was in Gryffindor but her parents have nothing to do with why she was upset. Then again, I doubt you'd understand. I'm going to go. You can just…" he threw up his hands, not even bothering to finish what he was saying and walked off, leaving Sirius standing there with James and Peter, his mouth agape.

"Way to go mate," James said, patting his friend on the back. "First day of term and already most of the school hates you."

"They don't hate me… they're just…"

"What? Playing hard to get?" Peter asked, "Even I know better than to shove my foot THAT far into my mouth."

James grinned and tossed his arm over Peter's shoulder. "Well said. Very well said. Sirius, I can't wait to see how you're going to fix this one."

"I didn't know! I can't be held responsible for something I didn't know!"

"No, but you can be held responsible for shooting your mouth off when you knew you didn't know what you were saying. Look mate, I know you were raised up in a house with no manners, but this is civilized society now."

"That's real funny coming from someone who looks like a bird nested in their hair," Sirius glared back. "And you don't see me all upset over my sorting, do you? Even though I know I'm going to get the worst Howler this school has ever seen tomorrow morning."

"That's you, Sirius, and believe it or not, not everything revolves around you. I'll see you in the Common Room," James said, sighing and turning away from his friend, Peter following along beside him leaving Sirius standing there, sputtering and trying to understand what exactly had just happened.

Sirius wasn't kidding when he told James that he would be receiving one of the worst Howlers in Hogwarts history. The next morning, after a restless night for many first years, they were all crammed into the Great Hall once again, this time having breakfast, the first of the owls flew in, dropping off Daily Prophets and letters of congratulations from parents to students. Diana was over at the Ravenclaw table idly pushing her food around her plate and not really eating while Sirius squirmed in his seat, just waiting for the Howler that he knew was going to come. Add to that fact that he was still trying to sort out everything from last night and he was a very uncomfortable Gryffindor.

Remus looked up irritably from his food as Sirius cleared his throat nervously for the tenth time this morning. "What is wrong with you?" Remus was obviously not a morning person.

"Nothing… just…" Another owl flew overhead dropping a letter to a young Gryffindor girl just a few seats down from him. He didn't let out the breath he was holding until he saw the girl open it.

Remus quirked an eyebrow up. "You just got about three shades paler watching that owl. What is going on with you?"

Sirius, composing himself, shrugged and set back to pretending to eat though his stomach was still tied up in knots. "Don't worry about it Lupin."

James just shook his head when Remus looked to him for answers. Sirius would be on edge until he heard from his mother. He didn't give a rat's ass what the woman thought, but it would still be hard for the young Black. Families are like that.

That's when it happened. The owl came flying into the great and upon seeing Sirius made a beeline straight for him, perching itself on his plate with a beak full of a bright red, angry letter addressed in fine cursive to Sirius Black Heir to the Ancient and Most Noble House of Black and wrapped in black ribbon.

Gulping audibly, Sirius reached forward and took the letter from the bird, receiving a painful peck on his hand for his efforts before the bird flew away, its job completed. "Oh God…" Sirius breathed, staring at the letter he held out in front of him.

"What's that?" Remus asked softly. Growing up around muggles, he was still trying to orientate himself to the customs of the wizarding world.

"That, my dear Lupin," James started, looking pained for his friend, "is a Howler."

"A Howler?"

"Yeah… just… you'll see," Sirius said, fingering the satin ribbon on the letter. "Might want to cover your ears actually. Mother tends to do more screaming than howling."

Remus noted the angry red welt on Sirius's hand from the bird as he opened the letter. He couldn't imagine what was so horrible. Surely Sirius's family wasn't that upset that he wasn't sorted into the family house. After all, they were his family. Families loved each other.

The sound that emanated from the letter after Sirius opened it was painful, unhuman and far louder than anything Remus had ever heard. It literally shook the walls, the tables and the dishes on the tables, reverberating inside everyone's ears, splitting in its shrillness. Remus actually worried about the state of the windows. Would they shatter?

"SIRIUS BLACK! YOU CAN NOT IMAGINE THE SHAME THAT YOU HAVE BROUGHT ON THIS FAMILY AND THE NAME OF BLACK! IMAGINE! MY SON! BEING SORTED INTO THAT FILTHY HOUSE OF GRYFFINDOR! THIS IS UNNACCEPTABLE! ESPECIALLY BEING THAT YOU ARE THE HEIR! ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTING! SHARING A HOUSE, A ROOM WITH MUDBLOODS AND BLOOD TRAITORS! AND THAT HORRENDOUS HEADMASTER REFUSES TO TRANSFER YOU INTO THE HOUSE OF SLYTHERIN WHERE YOU RIGHTFULLY BELONG! SHAMEFUL! DISCUSTING! FILTH OF MY BLOOD! SIRIUS BLACK YOU HAD BETTER GET GOOD MARKS TO AT LEAST MAKE UP FOR THIS DEBAUCHERY! AND I WANT TO HEAR NOTHING OF YOU BEFRIENDING ANYTHING IN THAT HOUSE! IT'S ENOUGH THAT I SHOULDN'T DRAG YOU BACK HERE RIGHT THIS SECOND! I CAN'T STAND IT! GRYFFINDOR! GRYFFINDOR! GRYFFINDOR!!!!"

The last scream seemed to echo long after the letter had destroyed itself. Finally Remus allowed himself to open his eyes and remove his hands from his ears and there, sitting right in front of him, as though nothing had ever happened was Sirius Black. No emotion showed on his face and for a moment Remus thought that the letter had somehow killed the young Black.

"Sirius, are you alright mate?" James asked worriedly, putting a, what he hopped was a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Bloody woman. I'll be so much happier when that harpy is dead and in the grave." Setting his napkin up onto the table he slid off the bench. "If you'll excuse me mates, I should go get my books and get ready for class. See you in Transfiguration."

"This isn't good," Peter squeaked, watching Sirius leave the hall.

"That's an understatement," James agreed, not sure what to do for his friend. That letter had scared him and it wasn't even his family and Sirius had just sat there as though nothing had happened, as though the words meant nothing to him. "A very big understatement."

"SIRIUS! Wait!" Diana called down the corridor leading away from the hall and over towards the Gryffindor towers. "Sirius! Hold up!" she called again, running up to him, slightly out of breath.

Sirius stopped where he was, but he didn't turn around, just stood straight and tall and proper, just how he was raised. "Something I can help you with?"

"Just… I heard…"

"Everyone heard. I'm pretty sure that people in London heard. What of it?" he asked icily.

"You know, you don't have to pretend like you're so tough all the time. That had to be hard. Hearing all of that…"

"No. It wasn't."

"Oh bugger off it Sirius! Just… Look! I'm trying to be nice here and I kind of thought we were sort of friends…"

"Yeah, but you were wrong, weren't you? After all, didn't you hear, mother doesn't want me talking to or associating with anyone who isn't a pureblood. Pretty sure you're not a pureblood."

"I'd be really shocked if you were actually going to listen to that load of rubbish that she yelled at you through that Howler. Look, Sirius—"

"No, Diana. I don't need your pity or anyone else's for that matter. In case you have failed to notice, I'm a Black. We don't need people's help. I don't need people's help, especially help from a lost little girl who can't keep a lid on her emotions."

"You're a right prat, Sirius Black. Remus was right about you. Why I EVER thought that… You know what, never mind. You go, enjoy your misery. See if I care." Turning on her heel, she spun and stormed back towards her own towers on the other side of the castle, needing to be as far away from Sirius Black as possible.

Sirius Black really was a prat and a bloody horrible person to top it off. The letter from his mother was fine, surface wounds really. He'd get over it, but the scathing remarks from the small girl with large blue eyes and bronzed hair had cut deep, deeper than he could ever remember being cut. Sighing, he resumed his walk back towards his room, shoulders slumping ever so slightly.

He went to Transfiguration later, but he wouldn't say anything to any of the others. He did notice, however, that Remus sat as far away from him as possible, next to Diana. Her words, "Remus was right about you…" still echoed in his ears. Not only did Diana hate him now, but it seemed as though Remus, his roommate Remus, had never liked him to begin with. Soft spoken, kind Remus didn't like him and neither did Diana. Was he more like his family than he thought he was? He tried so hard NOT to be like them, but what if he just couldn't escape them, what if he was more of a Black than just name?

Watching as Remus and Diana talked, he felt the unfamiliar pang in his chest. He felt bad for what he had said the other day after the sorting ceremony and he felt bad for what he had said in the corridor and for acting like a prat. Term had barely started and he was off to a lovely start. Glancing over at James, he wondered how long it would be before he would ostracize his best friend, after all, they'd only know each other for a few days. Soon James would realize that Sirius just wasn't worth it. He was never worth it, not to anyone, not even his family.

"Sirius! I want to talk to you!" Remus called out to him as they were leaving class.

Turning, he sighed, "What do you want Lu—" He didn't have time to finish his question as Remus's fist connected with the side of his mouth. "What the hell!?"

"That's for what you said to Diana yesterday! You arrogant prat! She was just trying to be there for you! She was being NICE! Do you understand the concept? Bloody hell! I warned her. I bloody well warned her! But no, she said you were nice and that I should give you a chance and what do you do? You put her into tears!" Remus's fists were clenching at his sides, begging to punch Sirius again. He was so angry that he could feel his own eyes welling up with tears. "I should hit you again!"

Sirius raised his hand up to his lip, which had split at the impact of Remus's fist and he could taste his own blood, coppery and wet. Looking back at Remus, he shrugged and nodded, "You're right. I'm arrogant prat and you should hit me again. It's the least I deserve." He held his arms away from himself, giving Remus an open shot. "I want you to hit me."

"You what?" Remus tilted his head to the side, giving the taller boy and odd look. "You WANT me to hit you?"

"Please?" Sirius practically begged, gray blue eyes watering as he stared at Remus. "Please Remus…"

"Remus! Sirius!" James called out, suddenly seeing what was going on and rushing over to where his two friends were. "What in Merlin's beard is going on here?!"

"Remus hit me, James. What does it look like?" Sirius asked, his tongue swiping at the cut in his lip. "And he should do it again. I deserve it."

James looked from Remus to Sirius and back again. "I ask again, what in Merlin's beard?!"

"I…" Remus looked down at his hand that had connected with Sirius's jaw and looked back. "I'm… sorry. I… I'm going to go now. I… sorry."

"Remus! Hold up!" James called after his friend while standing there with the bleeding Sirius. "I swear… Sirius, we have to get you to Madam Pomfrey's. Come on and don't you dare ask me to hit you, cause I just might right now. Either that or hex you into next week. You have got a LOT of explaining to do."

"You punched him! Remus! What were you thinking?!" Diana hissed at him as he walked her back to Ravenclaw.

"That's just the thing. I wasn't!"

"Such a Gryffindor thing. Honestly, Remus. Think first, THEN act. Okay? Can you promise me that?"

"I…"

"Remus."

"I promise. Think before I act. It's just that I usually do."

"Not this time though, obviously. Look, Black is having a rough time. I mean, you heard what his mother… Never mind that. I'm going to go see him and you can stop with the whole punching thing. Okay?"

He dropped his head in defeat. "Okay."

"Now… what's your take on the Goblin Rebellion of 1608 that Binns was talking about today?"

"You could follow that?! Even I had a hard time staying awake!" Remus exclaimed.

"It was absolutely fascinating! Really Remus, I'm beginning to understand why you were sorted into Gryffindor and not Ravenclaw," she giggled.

"I see you're taking this whole sorting thing better now," he stated, treading carefully on what he feared was thin ice.

"Oh, yeah. No worries. You should be upset though. Ravenclaw is so much better than Gryffindor and from what I hear we are going to kick butt at Quiddich this year. Plus, better colors."

"Why the switch?" he asked, honestly wondering why she had gone from tears to laughter.

"Actually, it was something that Sirius said. Believe that or not. He brought up my mum and I started thinking about it. I took out her old diary and I was reading some of her passages… she LOVED being in Ravenclaw. I'm a lot like her, or so I've been told. I got excited about being a Ravenclaw too. Plus, we have so many classes together. I'll see you guys all the time. Oh, and also, my roommates are too much fun! Who did you end up with as roommates?"

"Oh," he laughed, "James, Peter and Sirius."

"Uh, oh," she giggled, face lit up with the joy of teasing a friend. "That can either be really bad or really good."

"Good, I think. James is, admittedly, a nice guy and so is Peter. Sirius is coming around."

"So you punched him?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I was angry at him!"

"For hurting me?"

"Well…"

"Aww, Remus, you care about me!" she teased, smiling brilliantly at the blush that was beginning to stain Remus's cheeks. Giggling, she hugged his arm. "I care about you too, Remus."

If possible, Remus's cheeks grew even hotter at her declaration. "I… Weren't you going to go see Sirius?"

"Trying to get rid of me Remy? Fine, I'll go see Sirius. See if I can't get that stubborn boy to open up." Leaning up, she kissed Remus on the cheek. "Thanks Remus, for, you know, being my friend and for well, punching him."

She left him there, stuttering and blushing an obscene color of red, skipping off to find Sirius, a large smile on her face.

TBC…

Please review!


	3. You've Got a Friend

Disclaimer: Same as before. I hold no pretenses of owning anything that belongs to J.K. Rowling.

**Chapter 3** – _You've Got a Friend_

"You know, you don't have to be an ass to everyone," she said simply, staring down at the boy in front of her who sat looking out at the lake. "But Remus shouldn't have hit you."

"Yes, he should have," he replied back, voice soft. "I deserved it."

"Even so, it doesn't do any good, does it? I mean, hitting you? It doesn't take back the words."

"I suppose not," he sighed, shrugging, still not looking up at her.

Kneeling down, she tried to catch his eyes, but he wouldn't turn to look at her. "Sirius, why were you so mean to me?"

"Seemed like the thing to do."

"No, honestly, what's with all the guarded answers? Does it have anything to do with your family?"

His laugh startled her. It was sharp and full of self-loathing. "What on earth gave you that idea? Was it perhaps the astonishing small mindedness of my mother's howler? Of course it has everything to do with my family!" Turning his face to her, he bored that steely gray gaze into her. "I'm a worthless son according to my family and to everyone else I'm a monster because of who my family is and frankly, I don't blame them. I just wish… I'm messed up, alright? I don't know how to act around people, especially when something hurts me. I block up, I lash out. Black's don't show any emotion other than anger. Black's are strong and I don't even know why I'm telling you all of this. Would you stop looking at me!" he exclaimed, turning away from her again, this time standing up to pace in front of her. "Those eyes of yours, blue and large and it's like you can just… like you see me."

"Of course I see you, Sirius, you're standing right in front of me," she stated, confused by his statement.

"No, no… not that way. I mean… You're a Ravenclaw, right?"

"You know that I am. You were there when I got sorted," she retorted, still confused.

"Well, Ravenclaws, they're smart, too smart sometimes, like, abnormally so."

Raising an eyebrow, she crossed her arms, feeling more insulted by the moment. "And?"

"Don't you get it?!" he exclaimed throwing his arms up and dropping to his knees dramatically in front of her, "James doesn't see me, not like you do and he's my best mate! He sees me upset and thinks it's just another tiff. You? You actually seek me out to try and talk to me cause you know that what my mother said hit me a lot worse, that there's more to me than I let on, more about my family, my past, my emotions… THAT'S what you see! You bloody Ravenclaws have this like… internal eye that lets you see more than what's there. It's why you're so bleedin' smart!"

"Sirius? Do you need to go see Madam Pomfrey? I do believe you're cracked."

"Merlin's beard!" Sirius cried, flopping over to his side on the grass. "I'm trying to give you a compliment Di."

"Could have fooled me." She sat there, looking over at him, trying to figure this boy out. Despite his protestations that she "saw him," there were still a lot of questions that she didn't have answers to about him.

Sitting up again, he gave her a frustrated glare. "How can you be so smart and so thick all at once?"

"Now, that I KNOW isn't a compliment."

"Okay, let's try this. You want to know what's going on with me? You want me to talk about how I feel so I can feel better? Well, I hate talking about it. I hate my family, so how about you start talking, tell me what my problem is, since you see me and that should prove it to you. Go ahead, analyze me," he prompted, rolling his eyes before flopping back into the grass.

"Sirius… This isn't… Fine," she sighed, leaning against the tree behind her and staring at him as though he were just another riddle, another puzzle to work through.

"Anytime Lyca," he grinned from his place on the ground. "Can't wait to hear this."

"Shush," she scolded, still staring at him, eyebrows furrowing in concentration.

"Am I really that much of a problem to figure out?" he teased. "Or do you just fancy staring at me?"

"Do you want me to do this or not? Cause you know, you're a right selfish prat and I wouldn't be doing this if you weren't forcing me to. As for that last question, I'm choosing to ignore it. Anyone would you fancy you would have to be daft. You are simply just another enigma for me to riddle out," she declared defensively.

"Fine, fine. Live in denial. Now, tell me about me."

"You're broken," she announced finally. "You doubt who you are. You thought you were one thing, a Black, but you don't agree with your family on so many things, so you being to think that you're something else, but you still want their approval so much. As much as you say your family doesn't matter, they do, cause after all, you're only an eleven year old boy and who doesn't want their family to love them? So, you take all this out on others. You get hurt and you lash out, after all, anything is better than appearing weak, right?"

Leaning up on his elbows, he stared at her, mouth slightly open, "I…"

"Shut up and let me finish. You try so hard to be shut off, but anyone with half a brain can see that you wear your heart firmly attached to your sleeve. You WANT to be loved. You WANT friends. You WANT what you've never had. Have you ever even been hugged before?"

"Stop," he growled, glaring at her.

"No, you wanted this, so you're going to sit there and listen. You're a big, strong boy, right? You can handle this." She plowed on, ignoring the deathly glare that she was receiving from those stormy grey eyes. "You feel so alone, but Sirius, you're not alone. Do you realize that? You have James, Peter, Remus and yes, even me if you'll let me be there for you. Your family doesn't define you. You can still define who you are. You can change people's opinions of you. Nothing is written in stone yet. Those wounds of yours… you can heal them. After all, you're a Gryffindor, right? You're brave and courageous and you have amazing hearts. You finally get a chance to use it, even if it is broken right now."

"Di…" he breathed out, voice catching on tears he shed as she had talked. He frantically tried to wipe them away, knowing that it wouldn't do any good. For the first time in his life, someone seemed to genuinely care about him.

"Sirius?" she asked softly, reaching over to rest a hand on his shoulder, pushing his black hair gently away from his face so she could see his eyes.

"Yeah?"

From her spot on the ground, she smiled at him, tears falling down her own face, "I know what it's like… to be broken. I don't even have a family. I never knew my parents. I grew up in an orphanage. I only know what I know of my parents because of journals and photos. No one else in my family wanted me. To them, well, I was just too damaged. So, I understand and well, if you ever want, or need, a hug, well… I'm…"

Grabbing her hand from his shoulder, he pulled her into a tight hug, resting his chin against his shoulder and letting the pain flow out in his tears. No more words were needed to be said as they sat there, both crying, both healing.

From up in his office, Dumbledore looked down at the lake, a shining tear in his eye as he watched the event transpire.

"Professor Dumbledore?" McGonagall asked, walking into the office. "Are you alright?"

"Minerva," do come in, he said, smiling. Turning away from the window, he wiped the stray tear away.

"Albus? Are you alright?"

"Quite," he replied, reaching into a bowl on his desk, "Lemon snap?"

"No," she declined. "but, if you're alright, why the tear?"

"Oh, just watching two of our first years down there work through some personal demons of theirs. It's good to see children bonding so."

"Who?"

"Sirius Black and Diana Lycaonia. Smart girl. Speaking of her, has Professor Sprout mentioned to you how things are going with the whomping willow? After all, a member of your house will be needing to use it as well."

"Yes, Remus Lupin. Also a smart boy, quieter I believe than the girl."

"Yes, yes, but something tells me that he won't have any problem either. I've heard rumors that he has befriended James Potter."

"Really? Perhaps he will be a calming influence on Potter."

"Come now Minerva, a little spice never hurt anyone."

Rolling her eyes, she smiled at him. "Albus, just you wait. I can tell you. That Potter will be trouble."

"I can't wait to see what the next seven years bring. I look forward to them fondly," he smiled back, popping a candy into his mouth.

"Albus, these two, Lupin and Lycaonia, do they know about each other, that both are—"

"No, I should believe not Minerva, though, I'm sure that they will come to realize it soon enough."

"Honestly, most of the staff thought you were daft to invite one, let alone two…"

"And what do you think? Do you think I am daft?"

"No," she replied honestly, reaching over and popping a candy into her mouth, "Quite the opposite, in fact. I should go, however, classes to prepare for."

Albus Dumbledore nodded, a smile on his face as Minerva McGonagall left and he turned back to look back out his window at the two first years who were now animatedly talking and laughing. It always warmed him to see two of his students getting along so well.

**TBC...**


	4. Something in the Way She Moves

Chapter 4

Something in the Way She Moves

At the age of eleven, Diana was well ahead of the rest of her classmates in terms of development. Standing in the middle of the girl's bathroom, starkers, she surveyed her budding body. From her spreading hips to her growing bosom, she looked a good few years ahead of most of the girls she shared a dorm with. Turning, she watched how her arse curved outwards and lent itself to womanly curves, her breasts doing the same further up. She ran a hand over her body, fingers tracing the light scarring that marred her figure, especially that savage one that resided on her hip.

Teeth marks. A mark of the beast that had ravaged her, leaving her to die. An unwanted reminder of memories that she would have rather forgotten. Unfortunately it couldn't be forgotten. She had to live with it. She had to live with it every full moon for the rest of her life.

The marks were long and jagged. The teeth that had let them had not simply sunk into her skin, but they had torn, leaving a gapping hole in her side. She should have died. She should have gone with her parents, but she hadn't. Something in her had pressed her on, had kept her alive. Now she was left with the scars, the memories of the screams, of the blood, of the hot breath on her face as her attacked leaned over her. Suppressing a shiver, she went back to inspecting her scars.

Some were nearly faded away, others, like the bite stood out sharply with raised scar tissue shiny and stretched. The other werewolf… whoever it was… did they have scars like hers? Did they stand in front of the mirror in just their starkers and inspect every inch of their body? Were they also more matured physically?

She hated her body. She hated that it betrayed her, that it made her so unlike all of the others in her year. She longed for a flat chest, for slim boyish hips. She didn't want these curves! She didn't want the stares they brought! The whispers! And she especially didn't want to bleed on a monthly cycle just as regular as the moon. That mess had started a year ago. Much too soon for a scared, orphaned, little girl. But, she wasn't a girl, was she? She was a werewolf, not human. That's why her relatives didn't want her. That's why she was shunned. From the moment that monster had bit her, she had ceased to be of the human race.

Turning from her reflection, she pulled her robes on, hiding the scars as best she could, thankful that her bite was not in a more prominent place. It was hell during the summer, but at school, she could hide it beneath her robes and not give a single worry towards it.

She opened the door to an agitated dorm mate who rushed in, slamming the door behind her with a rude comment muttered Diana's way, but she paid it no mind. Running fingers through her long honey brown hair, she slipping out of the dormitory and off to breakfast, hoping to avoid any members of her house.

Two weeks into the term and she still wasn't making any friends and the friends she had made: Remus, James, Sirius and Peter, she was trying to push away. They were Gryffindor and while Ravenclaws and Gryffindors had no qualms with one another, it didn't make sense to get close to anyone, not with what she was. However, she was growing increasingly curious as to who this other werewolf was. Maybe, just maybe, she could have an ally, someone who knew everything about her and who understood.

Not watched where she was going, she collided painfully with Remus Lupin, sometime friend and all around nice guy, even if he was slightly quiet.

"Remus! I'm sorry!" she gushed, standing up quickly and helping him to stand back up as well. "I'm such a klutz! Are you alright? Anything broken? Oh goodness!"

His laughter bubbled out before he could stop it. "Diana! I'm fine. Calm down, okay? I'm not made of glass. You didn't break me. To tell you the truth, that was downright mild compared to some of the scuffles James and Sirius have drug me into already. I'm beginning to think that living with those two may not be the best for my health."

Biting her lip, she blushed, resettling her bag on her shoulder. "Still sorry and sorry that I keep saying sorry, but well, I am—"

Leaning forward, he placed his hand on her mouth to silence her. "Stop apologizing," he smiled.

Slowly, she nodded, regaining control of herself. This was another reason why she was trying to not see him all that often. He had a way of stirring things inside of her. There was something about his eyes, brown with flecks of gold, which saw her, really saw her and it didn't scare her. On the contrary, it actually put her at ease. It was that ease that scared her. Complex? Her? Never.

"So, why the daze? Something on your mind?" he asked, removing his hand and stepping next to her, walking with her to Potions, a class that Gryffindor and Ravenclaw shared.

"Oh, nothing really. Just, well… I don't know." Looking away from the boy next to her and out one of the castle windows, she took in a deep breath. She knew exactly why she was distracted. The full moon was growing ever closer, making her blood heat, her teeth snap and taking over her entire body. It was part of the reason for the examination in the bathroom that morning. She always became hyper aware of her body when the days started to tick down to zero hour.

"No, I get it," Remus said quietly, giving her one of his patented shy smiles. "I'm like that too. One minute I'm there and then the next, I'm elsewhere. I'm not pushing or anything, but if you ever want to talk about it…" he trailed off as he noticed her gaze and where it had turned too. She was back to looking at him, but this time she wasn't watching his face.

"Where did you get the scar?" she asked, her hand reaching forward to touch it. It was bright and shiny like the scar wasn't all that old and it was large, right there on his neck. How could she have missed it before?

Pulling his robes up, he tried to hide it, his heart beating frantically in his chest. She'd seen! She'd know! She couldn't know! Eyes darting for the quickest escape route, he avoided looking at her, some babbled, tripped over excuse stuttering from his lips.

"You're…" She looked over her shoulder and pulled Remus into the nearest empty corridor, pushing the frantic boy against the wall. "Remus! Calm down! Please!" she hissed, trying to get his attention back onto her and trying very hard not to pay attention to the heady musk his fear was creating in her nose. "Please… calm down…" she all but moaned, her eyes closing as she leaned into him. "Please."

He froze. The second he felt her push against him and sniff at his neck, he froze as solidly as any one of the statues that resided in the halls of Hogwarts. "D…Di…Diana? Are…?" he swallowed nervously.

She shuddered against him, her hand coming up to caress the soft, surreal flesh of his scar. "How old were you?"

"I was six," he said sadly. "Please don't tell anyone. I was supposed to keep it a secret." He still hadn't caught on. It wasn't possible, was it? He was supposed to be the only one in all of Hogwarts history…

"I was nine," she whispered, taking his hand and slipping it under her robes and under her shirt, just over her own scar. "And I won't tell if you won't." She still wouldn't meet his gaze. She knew she'd see surprised, nearly golden orbs staring back at her, trying to understand, to grasp hold of what exactly was happening. "Should have known you would be… we were so much alike, just clicking like that…" she continued, laughing lightly.

"How did you know that there was even… that I was… I'm not saying this right."

"How did I know there was another werewolf? The sorting hat told me. Said something about another one. Good thing I'm not cat since I tend to be rather curious and my curiosity has been peaked since I heard that hat say that."

"It didn't say anything to me…"

"Does it matter?"

"Whoa! Remus! Go you!" Sirius cat called from the end of the corridor.

Remus, just noticing that his hand was still under her robes, pulled away as though he'd been burned, blushing a furious scarlet. "Sirius… it's… it's not what it…" he stammered out.

Turning, Diana grinned at the dark haired boy. "What's a matter Siri? Jealous?"

James, sliding into the back of Sirius, gave the three of them an odd look. "I missed something, didn't I?"

"Nothing but Remus helping me to readjust my robes. Very innocent, I can assure you guys," she smiled, walking down, leaving a stunned Remus still standing against the wall. "But now that you're here, I'll happily take a few more strong, brave, Gryffindor escorts," she giggled, slipping her arm through James's.

"But of course!" he said dramatically bowing very ungracefully, his hair still an absolute mess.

Walking off, the two of them, and Peter, who had just caught up were giggling over some joke James had cracked about Slughorn and his rather cauldron like appearance while Sirius waited for Remus, the two giving each other a rather odd look. There was something about Diana that called to both of them and though they were only eleven, they still felt something, even if they had no idea what that something was. She just had that effect.

"Just adjusting her robes? Can't she do that herself?"

"She tripped," Remus said softly, looking away from the taller boy.

"Oh." Sirius left it at that. He liked Remus, a lot actually. Pushing the strange feelings away, he grinned at him, "James and I were talking about this prank for this weekend—"

"I can't," Remus interrupted, looking worse for the wear suddenly. "My mum… she owled. She's… she's ill. I… I'm going h, home this w, weekend…"

Sirius's grin failed him as he looked at the smaller, frail looking boy. "Oh… Well… I guess… Hope your mum feels better."

"Thanks… Come on. We're going to be late to Potions if we don't hurry. We'll talk about this later," Remus said, trying to smooth away the hurt look from his friend's eyes. "Alright? Maybe we can do a prank when I get back?"

He brightened up at hearing that and nodded with all of an eleven year old boy's enthusiasm, grabbing Remus's hand and dragging him at full speed down to Slughorn's dungeon, both their fingers crossed that they wouldn't be late.

As it turned out, they weren't late, in fact, they had even managed to beat the professor to the class.

Sirius took his usual place next to James, which meant that neither would be paying much attention to the lesson and Remus slipped into the empty seat next to Diana. He'd never met another like him before, someone else who had been turned so young and who still managed to come out… normal, not that he thought himself anywhere near normal. After all, he was still classified a monster. Did that make her a monster, too, though? She didn't look like a monster…

She gave him a soft, shy smile and pulled her books out of the way for him. "Still want to sit by me, do you?"

"Of course!" he said, genuinely shocked. "I was wondering if maybe we could… I don't know… talk? I've never… Well…"

Giggling, she nodded, giving his hand a little reassuring squeeze. "Sure, and don't worry. I've never either. You're my first."

He blushed and removed his hand from hers to pull his book, quill and parchment from his bag, his mind thinking of other firsts that he, any boy the age of eleven, shouldn't think about. "I…"

"Later, okay? Lesson is about to get started," she said, pointing to Slughorn's door which was just opening to reveal the rather round Potions master.

"Good morning class!" he boomed. "We're going to start working on a very simple healing potion; however, Diana Lycaonia and Remus Lupin, Professor Dumbledore requested that you have this lesson off in order to meet with him in his office. I'm sure that you will have no problems catching up with the rest of us," he added with a smile.

Giving each other an odd look, they collected their things and slipped out the back door, attempting to ignore the confused looks from James, Sirius and Peter.

"Probably has to do with Saturday," she stated as they got far enough away from the classroom.

"Probably. I have to admit. It's somewhat comforting to know I won't be going through it alone. Most of these scars are from…"

"Yeah," she nodded. "I hear you on that one."

"You don't look so bad. I can barely tell you have any scars."

"The robes hide most of them," she stated simply, opening a door to the tower where Dumbledore's tower was.

Remus gaped, not sure how to reply to that. "I…" he followed her dumbly, suddenly thinking about her without her robes on. Like Diana, he too had matured at a faster rate.

"Oh, don't worry you're pretty head Remus," she chuckled, noticing the look on his face. "I'm just saying, I'm pretty good at hiding the scars. Helps that girls can get away with make-up. Chocolate Frogs," she said clearly to the gargoyle perched in front of her.

"What? Chocolate frogs? What does that have to do with anything?"

Laughing, she pointed to the staircase that was revealed in front of them. "It's Dumbledore's password silly, to get into his office."

"How do you know his password?"

"He told me," she said, smiling over her shoulder as she started up the stairs.

Something gave Remus the distinct feeling that these seven years were going to be very interesting, very interesting indeed, especially since he couldn't help but notice how her hips moved as she walked up the stairs. Remus wasn't prone to swearing, but at that moment, he felt the need to. "Bloody hell," he cursed under his breath, following her up the steps that led to Dumbledore's office, trying his hardest get his thoughts back under control, which wasn't easy seeing as how the wolf was prowling closer to the surface these few days before the full moon.

When they reached the top of the steps they took in their surroundings: a large circular office whose walls were lined floor to ceiling with canvases of past headmasters. A bowl of candy sat on a rather ornate desk and a sleeping phoenix sat perched behind it. It looked exactly how they would have imagined Dumbledore's office looking. It was both ornate and somewhat eccentric and homey, comfortable even. What they didn't see, though, was Dumbledore.

"Professor?" Remus asked tentatively, sneaking over to peer behind the desk. Dumbledore wasn't hard to miss. Surely he wouldn't have called them to his office just for him to not be there. Would he?

"Professor?" Diana asked too, stepping behind Remus to look under the desk.

"Do the two of you really think that I would be hiding under my desk? Well… actually, I did once, but that wasn't really hiding, see, one of my chocolate frogs had escaped and made a dash for it under the desk and I wasn't about to let him get away, seeing as he was my last chocolate frog." He chuckled, "Quite the feisty things those chocolate frogs, but then again, you'd probably know all about that, wouldn't you Remus. I hear that you enjoy your chocolate quite much."

The two spun at hearing their headmaster's voice, both blushing a scarlet. "Uh, sorry professor… we… um…"

"Yes, I realize that I asked you here and regrettably I wasn't here the moment you arrived. Surely you understand that nature calls at some of the more inopportune times. Please, have a seat," he said, smiling before taking a seat himself behind his own desk. "How are the two of you? Doing well? Everything getting along okay? Figured things out a bit have you?"

"Professor…?" Diana started again, not entirely sure where this was going.

"Yes, yes, I should probably get to the point, being that this Saturday is the full moon and we must decide what to do with the two of you. For obvious reasons we can not put the two of you together."

"What obvious reasons are those?" Remus asked, looking suddenly more confused. "I was… well… it would be nice… to… well…" he blushed and looked down at his lap.

"Well, we can't put the two of you together because your furry counterparts are just coming into that of mating age," Dumbledore stated, pushing his moon shaped glasses a little further up his nose and ignoring the bright red faces of his two students who suddenly were unable to look at one another.

Remus thought he was going to die right there, just be swallowed up by the floor. Dumbledore did not just imply that they couldn't weather the full moon together because they would… he wouldn't… she wouldn't… would they? He was only eleven!

"Professor, sir," Diana stuttered, "We wouldn't necessarily… I mean… werewolves do have mating rituals that involve more than just… well… we don't even know if our wolves would like one another. I mean, I like Remus and all just fine but…" Looking down at her hands, she took a deep breath, "I'm just going to shut up now."

The headmaster smiled, a small twinkle present in the corner of his eye. "Diana, Remus, I trust both of you, otherwise I would not have allowed you step foot in Hogwarts. I do worry though, seeing as how you are not in your minds during the full moon, and as you just stated my dear, we don't know how the two of you will react to one another. The results could be catastrophic. The best case scenario is that you enjoy one another a little too much," he paused to let their faces deflame a little, "or you rip one another to pieces. There's just no one there to act as referee. I know that both of you were looking forward to a little company, but unfortunately there is just no safe way to allow that."

"Then what are you planning on doing, sir?" Remus asked, his voice still soft. "I mean, it's somewhat difficult to keep one werewolf, let alone two."

"Both of you will spend the night in a building we have constructed just outside of Hogsmead. There are two levels in this building. Each with a room that will be bolted and quite safe for the two of you, I assure you."

"Hogsmead? However will we get there?" Diana asked, confused as to how they would make it from the school to this building unseen every full moon.

"The Whomping Willow. There is a passage under the tree that will allow you safe passage right to the building. Poppy, Madam Pomfrey will escort you there at night and then will return to collect you in the morning. It is my hope that with the two of you within fairly close quarters, you will have some calming effect on each other, even if you can't spend the night actually together. This is, as you know, the first time this school has ever done anything like this."

They both nodded, knowing just how incredibly lucky they were that they were even at the school. No sense in pouting about little things. "Thank you, Professor," they both said, giving him a smile, still avoiding each other. The word "mating" was still ringing soundly in their ears.

"Do either of you have any more questions for me?"

Slowly the two shook their heads, knowing that they had questions, but also knowing that Dumbledore really wouldn't be able to answer them.

"No? Well then, I should allow you to get back to class. However, one little thing. I realize that things are a bit… scary for you right now. But I feel that trusting others, though worrisome is often times a good thing. Now, off you go," he smiled, standing. "And do take some lemon drops as you go. Enjoy your classes!"

A few minutes later, Remus and Diana stood once again outside by the gargoyle, silent and cheeks still stained a deep pink. "Do you… You don't…" Diana asked softly, fingers twisting together in front of her.

"No! Well, I mean… I wouldn't… not that…" Remus took a deep breath and closed his eyes, trying to think of how to word it without it coming out completely wrong.

"Did you know…? About the…? Oh bloody hell!" she declared, throwing up her hands. "Remus, you don't want to shag me, right? No. I don't want to shag you either. Stupid wolves… Can't keep their bloody hormones in check. That's NOT our fault!" She was waving her arms around, emphasizing her point.

"Diana!" Remus lunged and grabbed her arms, laughing at her. "You're exactly right. We're not going to shag one another. It's not our fault. At least we'll be sorta near one another."

"Right! I'll be there in the morning and so will you. And plus we'll walk there together. We don't actually need to be in the same room. I mean, that's just what we need, someone else to help with the application of scars, right?" she giggled, if a little nervously.

"Right," he said, a little quieter, his hands still on her arms, bodies a little closer than normal, and suddenly very aware of that fact. "I…"

"Oh…" she said softly, noticing now too just how close they were and how he was still holding onto her. "Remus?"

"Diana?" he replied, not making any move to step away from the girl in front of him.

"Is this maybe a… wolf thing? Cause…" She took another step closer, leaning forward to smell the skin of his neck and to breathe in that woodsy smell of wolf that was so close to the surface now. "It really feels like it…"

"Maybe we should uh… go to class?" As he said it, he didn't make any move away. Instead, he moved a hand up to push her hair back so that he too could smell her and her wolf that was rising closer and closer to the surface.

"Yeah… so why aren't we going?"

"Cause… I don't… I want to be close to you. It's like…"

"You don't have a choice… I know," she whispered.

"I think… Dumbledore is… right," he whispered back, closing his eyes and trying very hard to concentrate on moving away from her. His traitorous feet though just didn't seem to be listening to his today though.

"Remus? You up there? Diana?" James called from somewhere around the middle of the steps. "Potions is over… kinda worried bout you two..."

"Slughorn assigned all sorts of homework," Sirius complained.

"Not like you're going to do any of it!" James retaliated.

The sound of their friends was like ice water hitting them. Pulling away, they eyed one another, each one silently blaming the other for what had just happened. What had just happened? What was going on? They were definitely going to have to do some research in the library… preferably alone.

"There you guys are!" James exclaimed as he reached the top of the stairs. "What took so long? What did Dumbledore want to talk to you about? Is this about you going home Remus and why was Diana here? What's going on? You're not keeping anything from us, are you?" The questions tumbled out of James's mouth like a river, drowning the two slightly frightened werewolves.

"JAMES!" Sirius scolded, cuffing his friend on the back of his head. "Stop acting like an over-excited kid on Christmas." Turning, he looked back at the two who were still eyeing James warily, "You aren't keeping anything from us, though, right?" he asked, eyes wide and puppy like.

"W-w-we… uh…" Remus stammered out, looking for the nearest escape route.

"Guys!" Diana laughed, "Calm down, alright? What reason would we have to keep anything from you?" she asked this purposefully avoiding Sirius's gaze. Those eyes should not be legal. "Dumbledore just wanted to talk to us this upcoming weekend. As you know, Remus has to leave and well, unfortunately, so do I. Just for the weekend though. We were just making sure that everything would be in order for floo travel."

"Where are you going?" Peter piped up from the back. "Remus is visiting a sick relative but what are you—"

"Don't worry bout it Pete," she smiled. "Just a stupid thing that I really have no way of getting out of. Trust me, I would MUCH rather stay here with you guys. Speaking of, what are your plans for the weekend? Any fun plans in the works?" she asked, trying to steer the conversation away from her and Remus. It wouldn't do for them to figure out what they were. It wouldn't do at all.

Remus caught her eye and gave her a thankful smile as the question sent James off on the latest prank he and Sirius had masterminded. The group made their way down the stairs, laughing and joking, all thoughts about the weekend gone… at least by four of the group. The other two, it still hung there, inescapable, just as it always had been and always would be.


End file.
